Aftermath of a Battle
by umpcai
Summary: When Usagi is haunted by the battle with Galaxia, Rei gives her a shoulder to cry on.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sailor Moon. Some dialogue is taken directly from the show.

Japanese translations are at the bottom.

**Aftermath of a Battle**

'_You'll die here'…_

_Yellow blasts… overwhelming… _

_Fighter. Healer. Maker._

'_It's terrible'… 'we can't do anything'…_

'_Leave our planet'…_

'_You'll regret that you talked to me that way'…_

_Aim… fire…_

_Protecting…_

… '_to save important people'…_

_Ami-chan._

… '_Sailor Moon and Starlights are very important to us'…_

_Minako-chan._

… '_protect Usagi-chan and our world'…_

_Mako-chan._

'_Don't leave me'…_

… '_too sweet'…_

… '_promised to be together until the end'…_

… '_gomen, I can't protect you'…_

_Rei-chan._

'_Iie! Return them!'_

_Heartache._

'_Sailor Senshi'… 'strike out your evil ambition'… 'Usako'…_

_Mamo-chan._

… '_wasn't a dream'… 'they're gone'…_

'_We'll defeat Galaxia ourselves'…_

_Sacrificed._

… '_it's okay'…_

_Setsuna-san._

… '_believe in yourself'…_

_Hotaru-chan._

_Betrayal._

'_I'll take your star seed before you feel any pain'…_

… '_because we're friends'…_

_Failed strategy._

… '_doesn't have a star seed?'…_

… '_we've dirtied our hands'…_

… '_it was our way'…_

'_Our princess is such a crybaby'…_

_Haruka-san._

'_I can see the light'…_

_Michiru-san._

'_My important friends are gone'…_

'_My important'…_

A sharp pain in her side caused Usagi Tsukino to jerk upright. She blinked rapidly and forced herself to fully awaken. Taking in her surroundings, Usagi noticed that while she was sleeping, she'd twisted around so that her feet now rested at the top of her sleeping bag. The bag was also unzipped, making her realize that heat from her covers was not the reason she was perspiring.

And then it came back full force. That dream. No, that memory. All those things had really happened, only hours earlier. Fighting Chaos. Watching her friends die. Galaxia, controlled by an overpowering evil force, bragging about and then showing her the death of her true love.

Usagi closed her eyes, willing the images to disappear. The sixteen year old cringed when they only assaulted her again.

'_Minna's okay now. Mamo-chan, the girls, Haruka-san-tachi. Minna is alive. The world is safe and Chaos has been defeated,' _she reassured herself.

To get her mind off that awful memory she thought back to after the battle, when everyone had returned. She'd embraced each of the Outer Senshi as they started to make their exit. Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru, Setsuna. They were going to grab Haruka's convertible and watch the sunset from a hill.

She'd gone with the Inners and Mamoru to say goodbye to the Sailor Starlights and their Princess before they returned to their home planet. Usagi smiled a bit sadly. She was really going to miss them, especially Seiya. He'd been such a great friend to her over the past months and he'd helped ease a bit of the loneliness she felt at Mamoru's absence. She didn't love him the way he had wanted, but Seiya definitely had a special place in her heart.

When Seiya, Taiki, Yaten, and Kakyuu had left, she'd turned to her four closest friends. They didn't have school the next day and so had made plans to have a sleep-over at Hikawa Shrine after her date with her beloved.

Usagi's face lit with a broad smile as she thought of that date. It had been so wonderful. She and Mamoru had talked and laughed and… kissed. A light blush painted her cheeks as she thought of the breathtaking caress of his lips on hers, several times throughout the night, and of his arms wrapped around her slender body as she held him tight.

She looked at the ring on her left hand, illuminated by the soft glow of the moon through the windows, and remembered her Mamo-chan placing it there on two separate occasions. The first was before he…left. Then, he'd once more slid it onto her finger while they were at the park that night. While he was away, she'd taken to wearing it on a chain around her neck. That had been her mother's idea. Her father had seen it once right after she received it and not been very happy about the finger it resided on or the ring's implication.

But, she wanted to feel the coolness of the small band again now that Mamoru was back. And she wanted him to put it back there. Slipping it on her own hand while in the privacy of her room wasn't the same. She needed to hear him whisper words of love as he looked at her in that way that made her feel like the most important girl in the world before their ring returned to it's rightful place and symbolized a promise to spend eternity together.

She needed that. Usagi hadn't known what to think when she didn't hear from him in all that time. She trusted him and believed in his love, because she knew he felt the same way about her that she did about him, even though he wasn't as openly affectionate as she; his eyes said it all. And, of course, there were those kisses.

So, it wasn't a lack of trust that made her need _him_ to put her ring back on. It wasn't because she doubted his feelings that she'd asked him to reassure her of his love for her at the park. It was just that she didn't know what to think and had worried. She didn't know of the real reason he hadn't contacted her when he was supposedly studying in America. She didn't know then that Galaxia had…

Usagi shook her head. She wouldn't go back down that road. He was perfectly fine. And she was deliriously happy after their date. So happy that it didn't even bother her when she remembered that she'd have to place her pretty little ring back on its silver chain before she went home the next day. After all, Mamoru could always put it back on her.

Usagi and Mamoru had lost track of time, so it ended up being almost eleven p.m. when she finally got to Rei's home. But, Makoto had baked sweets so everyone was still up, albeit a bit hyper, and her friends were more than willing to stay up until nearly half past three in the morning in order to gab, and grill her about her date. Naturally, she refused to dish out details until Makoto pulled out the extra trays of food and she'd eaten more than her share.

The night, and early morning, had been a lot of fun. And Ami had only studied for an hour. Luckily, Rei's grandfather and Yuichhirou, the young man who helped out at the shrine and crushed on Rei, had their bedrooms on the far side of the temple. Lucky because the laughter from Rei's room would surely have woken the two had they been closer. If anyone had heard the teens, it would have been hard for them to believe that less than twelve hours before four of the five girls had been dead.

Usagi stifled a gasp at her train of thought. '_Minna's alive now. We can be happy and just have fun again.'_ But, still, she frantically glanced to her right, needing to see them safe and sound. Minako Aino lay curled up on top of her sleeping bag, her light blonde hair spread over her pillow and across her body. One of her feet was positioned on Usagi's sleeping bag. _'That must be why I woke up. Minako-chan must have accidentally kicked me in her sleep.'_

Looking to the left, she saw Makoto Kino, wavy brown hair still in a ponytail, lying on her stomach. Just past Makoto, Ami Mizuno was sleeping soundly inside her sleeping bag. Usagi's gaze swept toward Rei Hino's bed several feet away from the group on the floor. Her eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet. _'Rei-chan!'_

Rushing to the unmade bed, she fervently hoped that there just wasn't enough moonlight in that corner to see clearly. But, seconds later, she confirmed that it was indeed empty.

'_Rei-chan!'_

'_You're too sweet… be strong.'_

'_Rei-chan, don't. We promised to be together until the end. Don't leave me. Onegai, don't leave me alone.'_

'_Baka Usagi, don't forget you have Mamoru-san. Gomen… I can't… protect you.'_

'_Rei-chan!'_

'_Iie… Iie!'_

"Iie," Usagi whispered, shaking her head, trying to expel the unwanted memory that had once more entered her head, "Iie, Rei-chan!"

'_She probably just went out for some air,' _Usagi reasoned, heading for the door. _'Oh, Kami-sama, onegai, just let her have gone out for some air. Rei-chan can't be…she was here just a little while ago. The nightmare's over. Rei-chan, onegai…' _

As she shoved the door open, Usagi let out an audible sigh of relief. On the porch steps, just outside her bedroom door, Rei was leisurely sitting, her legs out in front of her. She turned as Usagi exhaled.

"Usagi? Daijoubu desu ka? You look a little pale."

"H-hai," Usagi said shakily. She slid the door shut behind her. "I, ano, well you weren't inside, so I was just looking for you."

"I couldn't sleep. Granted, I probably could have laid in bed for more than twenty minutes trying. Demo, I wanted to check the fire real quick. Just to make sure Chaos is staying where it belongs."

"It is, isn't it?"

"Hai."

"Then, why are you still out here?"

"Just thinking."

"Oh. Did you want to be alone?"

"Iie, you can stay if you want."

Usagi nodded and moved to the steps.

"Why did you wake up?" Rei asked. "You've barely been asleep an hour. And I know how much you love sleeping."

"Minako-chan kicked me," Usagi replied, taking a seat beside her dark-haired friend. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Blonde pigtails fell over her shoulders and onto the stairs as she leaned forward, looking at Rei.

"I guess the two most dangerous sleepers should have each had isolated corners."

"Hey!"

Rei chuckled. "You know it's true. That's why Mako-chan and Ami-chan made sure there was a few feet between them and you two."

Usagi rested her chin on her knees and looked straight ahead. "Minako-chan's the one who kicked me. She's _more_ dangerous," she protested. "I probably have a bruise."

"You should've pulled her pillow out from under her head. Get pay back by putting her 'precious hair' on the floor. That would've been funny to see tomorrow."

"I was kind of glad she woke me up, though. I wasn't having the greatest dream."

Rei sobered immediately. "Is that why you looked so upset when you first came out here? What were you dreaming about?"

Usagi shrugged. "Stuff… I… gomen, Rei-chan."

"Nani? Doushite?"

"For yesterday."

"Usagi, what are you talking about? Yesterday, you saved the world. What on earth are you sorry for?"

"Because I… I let you die, I let you all die… again."

"Usagi, you didn't-"

"I keep seeing it," Usagi interrupted. Her upturned face had tears streaming down it. "Over and over again in my head. And then, you weren't in your room and I thought you…"

"Gomen, I didn't mean to make you worry. Demo, I'm fine. Minna's fine."

"I can't make it stop, though. I repeatedly watch you all lose your star seeds and fade away. To protect me. Because you believed I could win against Chaos."

"You did; you-"

"Demo at the cost of all my friends! After the North Pole and Beryl, I promised myself I would never let it happen again. Even if it had to be me instead, I wouldn't let minna die again. Then, Chaos came and I broke my promise. I let you all go through that pain again. And, and you shouldn't have. You shouldn't have died. I should've saved you. I wanted to save you."

Rei scooted closer to Usagi and wrapped an arm around her shaking frame. "And we all want to save you. We've all made that same promise. Even if it has to be us, we'll make sure _you_ live, Usagi."

"Because I'm the Princess," Usagi whispered bitterly.

"Don't be stupid! It has nothing to do with that. Who cares about past lives? All of us Senshi protect you because we love you, you baka. Because you taught us all about friendship and gave us love. You saved us from a sad and lonely life. You're the sweetest, kindest person there is and you have the biggest heart. I mean, come on, you're even able to love our enemies, Usagi. And, I for one wouldn't want to imagine a world without you. Those few minutes on that asteroid a couple years ago, before Mamoru-san revived you, were the worst moments of my life. I won't relive them."

"Demo-"

"Iie. Look, no regrets okay. I'd gladly die for you again."

"I don't want you to!" Usagi burst out. "And you promised."

"I never broke that promise. Even if it's only in spirit, we will always be together. That's what the whole friends forever thing means, ne?"

"I'll fight you," declared Usagi. "Because you can't die again, Rei-chan. So, if it ever comes down to me or you again, I'll fight for it to be me."

"Like you could ever win against me," Rei scoffed. She allowed a tiny smile to cross her face as she realized the fire in Usagi was coming back, and the depression was leaving. Good. Someone as cheerful as Usagi shouldn't be so sad. '_But, she's insane if she thinks I'd let her do something stupid like die for me.'_

"I would," Usagi stood her ground. "You _won't_ die again. Promise."

Rei removed her arm from the blonde and stared out at the yard before her. "Baka," she muttered.

Usagi grinned at the insulting endearment. She wiped the tears from her eyes. _'That's what she'll call me when __**I**__ jump in front of a blast meant for __**her**__.' _"Ne, Rei-chan?"

"Hai?"

Usagi linked her arm through Rei's. "You know you're my best friend, don't you?"

"Hai," Rei smiled softly. "And you're mine, Usagi."

**The End**

**Japanese Translations:**

Minna- everyone

-tachi- and the others

Iie- no

Gomen- sorry

Baka- fool

Onegai- please

Kami- god

Daijoubu desu ka?- are you alright?

Hai- yes

Ano- um

Doushite?- why?

Nani?- what?

Demo- but

Ne- turns a statement into a question; right?

-sama- honorific showing great respect

-san- honorific for someone older or respected

-chan- honorific for a close friend


End file.
